Teaching Romeo and Juliet with Technology: Part Four

Today we bring you an idea for a final project in a Romeo and Juliet unit. Watch how Teaching Shakespeare Institute 2014 alum and English teacher David Fulco blends performance, language study, and digital research in this student-centered assignment. We love how he uses web tools to promote exploratory, independent learning in his middle school classroom!

Here’s David:

BEFORE YOU WATCH

I am constantly trying to find ways to talk less in class and to have students do more. Ultimately, this should lead to more student independence and free up time for me to focus in small groups and in one-on-one conferencing. A webquest is the perfect tool to encourage this type of independence. Students are able to move at their own pace and have an answer to the inevitable question, “What do I do next?” (hint: continue to explore!). But webquests are also fun and provide a way for students to engage in the text in an interactive, exploratory fashion.

THE VIDEO

A Webquest as a Culminating Assignment:

AFTER YOU WATCH

While I did not teach Romeo and Juliet this year, I did use a Webquest to build content knowledge before teaching The Odyssey. My students have a basic idea of Greek Mythology, but I wanted to deliver content on the Iliad that didn’t require me to drone on and on in the front of the classroom. I built the Webquest and filled it with pictures, links and Easter Eggs (secret hidden links that the students could click on for extra information). We also asked the students to create their own “slides” to include in the Webquest based on items that I had not already included. Many focused on current events or current discoveries tied to Homer’s time allowing the work to continue to feel relevant.

While students were engaged in exploring and creating, my co-teacher and I were able to meet individually and in small groups with many of our students who needed extra help. I realized that some of the links that I chose were dense, so it was important that I had this time to work one-on-one with students who needed it. This is important to keep in mind. The links that are included need to be challenging for the highest student, but still accessible to every student in the class. Keeping ALL of your students in mind when creating a Webquest (or multiple Webquests for differentiation) is an important step to ensure that you will have success.

David Fulco is a 10th grade English teacher at The Laboratory School of Finance and Technology (MS/HS223) in the South Bronx. He also runs an after school Shakespeare club for seventh grade students who will be putting on A Midsummer Night’s Dream later this spring.